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1. The animation for the pokeradar grass patches appear above the fog. (Very useful for people chaining Bagon)
2. For Chaining in the sandstorm, be in a very dark place, have your DS (Preferably a DS Lite) on highest light setting, and have it be around 11 Am. It should be very bright and easier to see the grass patches. You can also tilt the screen a little to semi-invert the colors and see better.
3. Every chain breaks for some reason. (Yes, they all do. It's in the coding.)
4. Magnet Pull attracts Steel type pokemon.
5. Static attracts Electric type pokemon.
6. Synchronize attracts pokemon with the same nature as the pokemon with Synchronize.

Chaining Resources Contents.

Click on the links to go to that individual resource. Or simply go to Page 443 of the Pokeradar Thread (http://www.serebiiforums.com/showthread.php?t=226939&page=443) and they are all there.

Because my chains broke although I entered the 4-zone patch, I decided to spend three weeks of my life to develop a new theory for chaining, because I read all guides posted in many forums, and any of them don’t seem to work for me. Well, after three weeks of proving patterns, I wrote a new chaining guide for obtaining shiny pokemon easier ;) This is the PATTERN THEORY made by me, 13mjvr :)

First, there are some aspects we have to remember when using this guide about other developed guides, the rest established by other guides MUST be forgotten, to succeeding when using my guide:

1. Max Repels (avoid non-pokeradar encounters), Poketch app 20 (show your number of chain), Swarms (easiest pokemon for chaining), Synchronizers (for obtaining good nature shinies), Static and Magnet pull (increase the chance of appearance of pokemon).
2. There are three types of patches: common, sparkly and Shiny. It’s very important to distinguish them while following this guide.
3. The number Chart:

Essential to see it while chaining with this guide: Type of patches and the number chart determine all the patterns.

4. Patches in the edge could break a chain (explained by Merbear), so all the following patterns AREN’T in an edge.
5. If you use a Max Repel after resetting, recharge and reset again.
6. 40th chain (or more) has the great chance of encountering a shiny patch.

That’s all of the other guides. Now, the following are some aspects that according to my research are incorrect from other guides, and indeed, must be ignored while using my theory:

1. “The 4-zone patch is the safest patch”
2. “Resetting affects the continuing of a chain”
3. “There are some unsafe tiles in the number chart”

Ok. Now, I’ll explain the main aspects of my theory required for understanding the patterns.

1. Essential to see the four shaking patches and the chart number while resetting.
2. There are PATTERNS which determine the zone with the highest chance of continuing a chain.
3. If any special PATTERN doesn’t appear during your chain, the chances of continuing a chain are the following:

So that means as high the chance of appearance, as high the chance of more tiles containing the chained pokemon. That’s the reason why I proved this theory with 24% or less chances pokemon: When you chain a higher chance pokemon, you have more probabilities of continuing your chain if you make a mistake with the following patterns.

PATTERNS

All these patterns were proved when starting with Sparkly type grasses. So I recommend using them too. Proving this theory with common-type patches requires another two weeks…. However most of the patterns should work similarly. But I read time ago, a theory of type of grasses: it said that was impossible to switch a sparkly-type to a common-type patch while chaining, but sometimes you can switch a common-type grass to a sparkly-type grass and your chain doesn’t break, so this give more support to the idea that the sparkly-type are the best for using the following patterns.

LINE-PATTERN: one main pattern of my theory. When you start with common or sparkly type grasses, and if ANY two patches are on the same line, the chance of breaking your chain if you enter the 4-zone patch increases.

I entered hundred of times to this kind of arranges and I have a lot of chain breaks. I also entered patterns which didn’t have patches in-a-line, and almost all my chains continued. No-lined patterns according to my data have 85-90% of working, so they’re very safe. According to what I have seen, two-lined patches alter the normal chances of patches by mixing chances one with another, for example, if the 3-zone and the 4-zone patches are in a line, both patches “mix” and may have the highest chances of continuing a chain, so 4-zone aren’t completely safe (I proved this a lot of times and I got a 41% for 3-zone patch and 59% for 4-zone patch, assuming that the chain pokemon was on those patches) I also proved this with other two-lined patches and had similar results. So, when you see lined patches, is recommended to Reset your pokeradar and search no-lined patches. But that doesn’t mean that if you enter a lined pattern, your chain will break instantly, some of them can continue, but they have a lower chance that no-lined patterns. Some safe arranges according to this pattern would be:

And others. Important to apply this pattern when others patterns appear.

Note: Yellow: Sparkly-type patches

- 4-ZONE GLOWING PATTTERN (Free +1 to your chain): When starting with Sparkly-type patches, if the 1,2,3 zone patches are of common type, and the 4-zone patch is of sparkly type, the 4-zone patch has a 99-100% chance of continuing your chain. This pattern is prior to any other pattern. For example:

This is the safest patch possible. This happen, because 1,2,3-zone patches are of normal-type so its chances of continuing the chain decrease, and the decrease total chance is added to the 4-zone patch (because it’s of the same starting grass type). This seems to work similar when you start with common-type patches, but instead, 1,2,3-zone patches must be of sparkly-type and 4 patch of common type.

With this pattern, some chainers could think that something similar will occur when 1,2,4-zone patches are of common-type and 3-zone patch of sparkly type for example (if starting with sparkly type). I proved this kind of patterns a lot of times and they could work, but the greatest results appeared with the 4 glowing patch. As I explained before, 1-2 and 3-zone patches has less chance than the 4-zone patch in “normal conditions”, so maybe the additional chance couldn’t be enough for 1,2 zone patches to be higher than the normal-type 4-zone patch’s chance, and this causes a chain to broke. Entering this pattern when the 3-zone patch is the glowing patch has about 60-75% chance of working.

NEVER-SAFE PATTERNS: When you start with sparkly-type patches, if ALL four patches are of normal-type, your chain has a 100% chance of being broken if you enter any patch. This pattern seems to appear with 22% or less chance of appearance pokemons, and this could happen because any of the four patches contains the chain pokemon. In that case, reset again.

When you start with Sparkly-type patches, and normal conditions appear (no lined patches, separated patches, no diagonal patches), if the 1,2,3 zone are of sparkly-type, and the 4-zone patch is of common type, the higher chance of the 4 patch is decreased and is added at random to another patch. So, is impossible to determine which patch contains the chain pokemon (if anyone has it). In that case reset again.

DIAGONAL PATTERN: When starting with Sparkly-type grass (also seems to work with normal-type), if any of the patches is connected diagonally with another patch, the normal chances of 1,2,3,4-zones are altered and a chain could be broken. FE:

In this case, the 4-zone patch would normally have the highest chance, however, being connected with the 3-zone patch causes some alteration on the zone patches, and could make the 3-zone the safest place for the chain (It seems both have similar chances). The diagonal connection between 1-2, 2-3 zones could also alter a chain (they’re other patterns, but I couldn’t determine how the chances are affected, but I got a lot of broken chains with those patterns when entering the 4-zone patch). So, when a diagonal appears, the safest option is resetting again.

- TWIN PATTERN: When two patches are connected (normal-type), their chances of containing the chain pokemon decrease and they’re added to the following zone patch. This pattern was proved with Sparkly-type, seems to work with common-type, but it hasn’t be confirmed.

a. 1-2 NORMAL TWIN PATTERN: When starting with Sparkly-type patches, if the 1 and 2-zone patches are connected and of normal type, and the 3-zone patch is of sparkly-type, the 3-zone patch has a very high chance of continuing a chain. For example:

b. 2-3 NORMAL TWIN PATTERN: When starting with Sparkly-type patches, if the 2 and 3-zone patches are connected and of normal type, and the 4-zone patch is of sparkly-type, the 4-zone patch is the safest place for continuing a chain (80-85% of chance).

c. 3-4 TWIN PATTERN: When starting with Sparkly-type patches, if the 3-4-zone patches are connected and of sparkly type, the 4-zone patch has the highest chance of continuing a chain (no following zone to transfer the chance, so I think it remains in the 4-zone patch). This chance could be increased to 80-90% if the 1-zone patch is of normal type, and to 95-100% if the 1-2 zone patches are of normal type.

[B]- 2,3,4 CONNECTED PATCHES: When starting with sparkly-type grass, if all the four patches are of sparkly-type and 2,3,4-zone patches are connected, the 1-zone patch has the highest chance of continuing a chain (I couldn’t prove this a lot of times, because this kind of arrange is very rare, but I have enter about 12 times to this pattern and it worked).

Connected patches transfer its chance to the following zone, so because the 1-zone patch is the only not connected, it obtains the additional chance.

- FOOT PATTERN: When starting with Sparkly-type grasses, if 1-2-zone patches are connected (twin) and 3-zone patch is diagonally connected to the 2-zone patch, a foot pattern appears. If the 1,2,3-zone patches are from sparkly type, the 3-zone patch has the highest chance of not breaking your chain (75-80%). If the 4-zone patch is of normal-type grass, the 3-zone chance increases.

- 3-IN-LINE PATTERN: When starting with Sparkly-type grass, if three patches are on the same line (one of the patches is the 4-zone one), is not possible to determine which patch contains the highest chance of continuing a chain.

That’s because normally the 4-zone patch has the highest chance, but being in line with another 2 patches causes a mix between their chances (eventually the 4-zone highest chance could be transferred to another patch in a line, so that causes a chain break)….so any of them could be the best patch. If a 3-in a line pattern appears and the 4-zone patch is not in the line, the 4-zone patch maintains the best chance of continuing a chain. However, there’s some risk in entering this zone…. The best option when a 3-in-a-line pattern appears is to RESET again.

- 1,2,3 LADDER PATTERN: When starting with Sparkly-type grass, if the 2,3,4-zone are connected diagonally and of sparkly-type, the patch in the medium of the ladder has the highest chance of continuing your chain (75-85%) in “normal conditions” (1-zone patch not in line with any patch of the ladder).

When the 1-zone patch is in line with any of the ladder patches, the high chance seems to be transferred to the patch of the ladder in a line with the 1-zone patch. However, this makes it an unsafe patch, so when it appears, is recommended to reset again if you are in a high chain.

There’re other patterns as well that I have noticed, but they need to be proven more times, but the above patterns are the main ones from my research. I’ll add others as soon as I have more time to begin another research, but I think this guide will help you to get easier a 40th chain of any pokemon ;) Thanks Pokerealm for helping me proving some patterns. I hope this guide will help all chainers with their chaining skills.

There is a lot of dispute going around as to whether or not this method works. I believe it does, because most people who get a high enough chain and catch a shiny are able to keep the chain going, and catch more shinies within only a few minutes of each other. For that reason, I think it deserves its own topic.

First off, I'll assume that you know what both shinies and the Pokeradar are. If not, I'd suggest not reading this, as it'll only confuse you.

Second, I'd like to begin by letting you know a few things you'll need to begin this method. Be sure to have the following:
1. The Pokeradar.
2. Pokeballs (to catch the shiny with, of course)
3. LOTS of max repels. You'll need to buy a lot of these, over 120 in some cases. I'd suggest fighting the Socialite and Gentleman on Rt. 212 with the Vs. Seeker and an amulet coin until you have enough for some max repels. You're gonna need them!
4. A strong, high-level Pokemon with enough PP in high power moves to take out a bunch of Pokemon in one blow. You'll want to specialize this in some cases, depending on which Pokemon you'll be chaining.
5. A Pokemon that can whittle your shiny's health down for catching. Obviously, this is optional, but very helpful if you're not swimming in master balls.
6. PP Restoring items. (I prefer leppa berries, as they're easy to find).

Now that we know what we'll need, let's get started! The first thing you'll want to do is go to Sandgem town and find out from Dawn's/Lucas's sister what Pokemon are swarming that day. In my case, it's Spoink, and they're on Rt. 214.

Once you know where the swarm is, go to that route, and find an ideal place to begin chaining. An ideal spot is one where the grass nearly covers the screen. My ideal spot is pretty far down, as you can see. Once you're there, save the game.

Now, I'm going to introduce you to a method known as "chaining." Chaining is a process by which you "chain" multiples of the same species of Pokemon one after another by using the Pokeradar. When done correctly, you can get dozens of these things in a row, and an added bonus to doing so is that it boosts your chances at finding a shiny Pokemon dramatically.

So first, we'll use a max repel, and then we use our radar. Notice all the wiggling patches of grass? I tend to go for the ones that aren't sparkling, as they're harder to confuse with others.

Now it's time to let you know about the "Rules of Chaining."

Rule 1:
Only choose a patch of grass if there are FOUR patches shaking.

Rule 2:
After the first patch you choose, all subsequent patches MUST shake in the same way. Choose any others, and you'll break your chain.

Rule 3:
Never choose a patch of grass that forces you out of the radar's range.
(The range is dictated by whether or not you can see all of the moving patches. This is especially important to consider when you only see two or three patches moving. Often this is due to the fact that there are patches shaking in other areas of grass on the edge of the screen. Take care not to choose a patch of grass from these sets, as you could break your chain)

Rule 4:
ONLY choose a patch of grass that's farthest from you, and is at least four patches away.
Important
The patches must be four grass patches away. Look at the following.
A good patch to go into: P####%#
A bad patch to go into: P###%##
P=Your Player
#=Non-shaking grass
%= Shaking grass

Rule 5:
When using another repel, NEVER choose a patch of grass until you reset the radar. (This one is kind of up in the air. Most of the time, using a repel doesn't seem to upset my chosen patch of grass. This may only be a superstition. But proceed with caution anyway.)

Rule 6:
NEVER choose a patch of grass that occurs on a corner. Beware of patches on an outside edge as well.

Rule 7:
Avoid patches of grass if they are right beside other moving patches.

Rule 8:
When in doubt, reset the radar and try again.

Rule 9:
If you see a patch of grass that sparkles twice dramatically, and seems to have a differently colored hue, it's a shiny Pokemon. Proceed with caution! What the grass will look like (video courtesy of Pokerealm) (http://youtube.com/watch?v=rgXkRZuBo3A)

Rule 10:
Never run away from the Pokemon, and never let it flee either.

Rule 11:
Never use your bike.

It's a lot to remember, but in time, it'll become second nature. Now, I should address one more thing before moving onto the tips and tricks. Resetting the radar.

Here's how you do it. The Pokeradar needs to recharge after every fifty steps. If you come across a set of wiggling grass that doesn't go by the rules, walk fifty steps in non-wiggling grass, and use the radar again. This will not break your chain, so long as you are in range when you use the radar again. And believe me when I say this: you'll be doing a lot more resetting than running into Pokemon.

So now you have the basics. Is there anything else you should consider? Of course! Here are a few tips and tricks you might want to keep in mind before you begin:

1. Swarming Pokemon make the best chains. I've found through experience that swarming Pokemon make longer chains for me than any of the standard ones you might run into. It's worth noting.

2. Never enter the grass directly behind your character. Unfortunately, this grass is mostly hidden from view, and if it wiggles, you'll be hard pressed to see it. I make it a point never to enter this grass unless I can see all four of the wiggling grasses elsewhere.

3. It's good to have a Pokemon that knows super fang or false swipe in your team. They'll help make the Pokemon easier to catch. Any immobilizing statuses like sleep or paralysis are good too.

4. If you're hunting an electric Pokemon, put a Pokemon with static at the head of your party. This'll help ensure even more that you'll run into your chosen Pokemon (or so it is believed).

5. App. No. 20, the Pokeradar App, is very helpful. It will tell you how many pokemon you've chained, as well as your longest chains so far. This'll help you determine when you're ready to start resetting for shinies.

6. Register the Pokeradar. This'll help you out a lot.

7. Put your max repels at the top of your item list.

8. At some point, stop chaining and start resetting. Most people say 40 is a safe number to start resetting the radar, but as long as you have enough patience and max repels, even 20 could work. It's all a matter of how far you're willing to go to raise your chances. A chain can break for seemingly no reason at all sometimes. It's best to be extremely cautious.

9. If you need a break, take one! But make sure you'll know where you are when you come back. I find it best to take breaks in the middle of a battle, or right before I reset the Pokeradar. But whatever works for you. Real time won't affect your chain, so take all the breaks you need. Just be sure to plug your DS in if you need to leave it on for a while, and putting it in sleep mode won't hurt either.

And that's it! If you stick at it, you too should notice results. I've only been doing it for five days, and I already have five shinies to show for it!

And Merbear's guide as well.
I've been chaining for a while and learned a lot from reading Shuko and Pokerealm's posts, guides and videos. Here are some tips to help folks who are having trouble:

o Buy hundreds of Max Repels. Once you have a chain at 40 you don't want to run out. I usually start chaining with over 300. Money is easy to get using the VS Seeker on the rich folks near the mansion. Keep battling them until you have enough to buy lots of Max Repels.

o Each time you are in a grass space and activate the pokeradar imagine this grid around you (with you being 0 in the center):

Four spaces are chosen to be shaking spaces. One in the 1 area, one in 2, one in 3 and one in 4. (If you want to verify this, watch some videos on youtube and pause it during the shaking.) Those four spots chosen to shake may or may not land in grass. If where you're standing causes any part of the grid to be on a non-grass space there is a chance you won't see four shaking grasses as some may end up in non-grass spots.

This is why the chain can break if you're near an edge. If all four chosen spaces land on non-grass spaces your chain will end. This would explain why you really do need to stay at least one space away from a wall or edge so you're guaranteed to get at least one grass to shake in the 1 area and not break your chain. Remember you can always reset the radar if you don't like the shaking grasses available to you.

The above explains why sometimes people go into battle with the right type of pokemon, but it still breaks the chain. I think the next four spaces are chosen as you enter battle and if you are near an edge and the four land in non-grass areas, the chain breaks. It's happened to me, but not since I've followed these steps.

When building your chain to 40, the safest shaking grass to choose is one in the 4 area. It should shake in the same way as the first grass you went into in the chain. I like to choose the bright sparkle shaking grass as that is easiest to see. From what I can tell there are four types:
long no sparkle
sort dim sparkle
short bright sparkle
long bright pulsing sparkle <- shiny!

Try to reset the radar near the middle of the grass so that the 4 area will not land against a wall or edge. If the one in the 4 area has any non-grass area around it, don't choose it or you risk braking your chain on the next round of shakes. Just reset the radar. Be patient.

The next important thing is resetting the radar. Don't be afraid to do it often. You should have hundreds of Max Repels (see above) so don't skimp on using them. When resetting, stay a few spaces near where you last used the radar or you risk walking out of range and breaking your chain. I like to choose a row where no grasses shook and run back and forth three or four squares in each direction.

Once you hit 40, stop going into grasses unless it is a shiny pokemon. Just stay near the middle of the grass area and reset the radar. Run back and forth in a short range and reset again. Make sure not to walk into the space above your head unless you clearly saw 4 grasses shaking, otherwise you risk stepping into the wrong type of shaking grass if you didn't see one shake behind your character.

Most important of all, stop and take breaks when you're not concentrating fully. Just stop in the middle of a battle or when you reset the radar and need to walk more spaces. Close the lid on the DS and plug it in. You can keep a chain going for days. The ponyta chain I'm on now started several days ago. I just come back to it and continue resetting the radar for shinies when I have time. It may take 20 minutes or an hour between shinies, but they appear eventually.

This next is just a superstition on my part. If you're looking for a particular pokemon to start a chain and can't find it, try switching your lead pokemon to something else. I think certain pokemon in the lead cause you to encounter certain types more easily than others. Could be wrong, but it works for me.

Hope this didn't sound preachy. I just want to help everyone get more shinies. Hope this helps someone out there. Good luck to everyone,
Merbear

Good luck!

Also, this is a copy of the old post, so I wouldn't have to type all this out, and so no staff would have to add in the exact same rules.